Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-08-20

A Young Woman who has become a
Institution i'm Government Offices.

1nHtltutlOn In government OfflccSs
SKILL AND CARE REQUIRED IN RUNNING THE Ma
CHlNE-THE SPEED ATTAINED BY ExPERTs-woMEN
MORE EXPERT THAN NEN-RECoRDs THAT ARE PRE-
SERVED IN TYPE-wR1rTEN COPIES, ETC.
SIT isn't as easy as it looks smilingly remarked
young lady In one OF the Departments as she
looked up from her typewriter. The visitor had
been watching her nimble fingers dancing over
the keys, and he thought that very pretty hand
and arm was shown to advantage. The young
lady herself wore becoming white dress and
looked cool and charming. II she had been bend
Ing over desk engaged In writing she would
probably have looked more Industrious and less
attractive. That Is what THE STAR man thought
as he looked at her, and so he said something OF
this Sort which ELECTED the reply as given above.
'People are very apt to think this work is easy
because 1t looks easy, think" she went on land
OF course II you don't care much how 1t is done or
when IL IS done ! think that type;writing might
be classed As easy work. But you have to maln-
tain certain speed and avoid mistakes. You
must know how to spell and punctuate properly,
and even then II you don't exercise great care you
are bound to commit errors. just minute ago
speit correct with one r. or course / knew that
there ought TO be two, but suppose that did not
great many mistakes OF this sort that constantly
occur, and TO avoid them and at the same
time attain reasonable speed is not easy"
II suppose that practice makes proficient" OBJ
served the STAR man.
. certainly II does" was the reply, "but you
very few proficient type-writers, and the experts
are still fewer in number. By the latter mean
writer's who can keep up speed OF sixty-five or
good copy. OF course they must have the matter
read to them. When personis writing from copy
forty TO nifty words per minutes is good work. and
the list OF operators who can do tubs Is not large.
The great majority OF writer's do not obtain q
much greater speed than thirty words, and then
they are liable To have lots of mistakes. But the
latter arise OrnciDallv from tpnOra a nd On
lessness so you see IT is not every that makes
even reasonably successful typewriter"
not possibly make mistakes with those bright eyes
and niInbie fingers, THE STAR man went away
with some new ideas on the subject.
TyPE-wRrrERs IN THE DEPARTMENTS
In talking with Department officials In regard
to the use OF type-wrtters in Department work, he
was surprised to learn to what extent they were
now in use. He was told that nearly all the let
tiers sent out were typewriter. Press copies are
taken OF these letters, which are preserved in the
archives OF the Department.. In one OF the De-
copied on uniform sheets OF paper on the type
writer, and these sheets are bound In book form
and preserved for reference. Since the introduce
the letters copied by hand into large blank books
has been abandoned to a large extent, and the
press copy-books are substituted. There has been
some apprehension expressed that after awhile
the type-writing in the letter-press books will
fade out, and the records OF the Government would
reaus to return to the old custom OF copying by
hand all letters While in others the letter-preSS
copies are considered to be as permanent as 1t will
be necessary for them to be. The writer's
have been In general Use in the Departments only
for the last eight or nine years. so the question OF
the fading out OF the writing is still matter OF
opinion. Their utility, however, Is recognized by
their general use In the Departments.
WOMEN MORE EXPERT THAN MEN.
Women are said to be more expert than men in
the use Of this machine, because their hands are
more supple and better adapted to the work. Still
there are some men who attain great speed, and
OF one OF the machine companies who could main
tain a speed OF seventy words minute II the mat
ter was read to him.
The Civil Service Commission has special ex-
animation to test proficiency In type-wrtttng work,
and to this extent their has become specially.
When combined with shorthand the ability TO use
the typewriter secures generally positions that
are pleasanter than the average clerkSh1p, and
sometimes the use Of the typewriter alone ts
found to be Of advantage. The Department off,
the papers written out In this way as 1t Is as easy
to read as printed matter and does away with the
delay In deciphering tllegible handwriting. The
statistics on this subject are rather hard To
and the majority OF them do other work beside.
The dealers in the rival machines represent the
numbers now in use in the Government Depart
mentS as very great, and, as the majority OF the
machines are said by the different agents to be OF
the particular kind which they have for sale,
there are, according to THIS authority, nearly as
many machines In the Departments a. there are
clerks. STILL any one can see In passing through
the department buildings that the use OF these
machines Is very general and when the next
| included in the mass OF Information that Il
gathered. 49,